Wayne Ellington: Give Ellington props for being a professional. He’s fallen to the fringe of the Mavs’ rotation, but he proved this week that it hasn’t affected his preparation. Ellington played only 32 minutes in the Mavs’ last four games, but Dirk Nowitzki is the only player on the roster with a better per-minute plus-minus in those games. Ellington especially gave the Mavs a lift in Wednesday’s win over the Golden State Warriors, when he was 3-of-3 from the floor in six minutes, highlighted by a sweet slam dunk off a backdoor cut.

FALLING

Samuel Dalembert: This isn’t about the big man’s performance. He actually played very well in the Mavs’ last two wins, recording an 18-point, 12-rebound, two-block double-double in the victory over the Utah Jazz and posting an 11-6-3 line in the win over Golden State. This is about the trust Dalembert lost by sleeping through the Mavs’ morning shootaround before Monday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets. Coach Rick Carlisle benched Dalembert for the first quarter of that game. Dalembert, who arrived in Dallas with a reputation for being unreliable after bouncing around to four teams over the previous four seasons, apologized profusely to coaches and teammates for his inexcusable mistake. The Mavs have forgiven Dalembert for now, but he’ll face a harsh punishment if he makes a similar mistake again.